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Photos by The Salvation Army IHQ
General André Cox will be the keynote speaker at the 2014 National Social Services and Disaster Management Conference, which will include delegates from around the world. For the first time the conference—to be held in Orlando, Fla., March 25-28—will have a Global Track for international participants. Salvation Army social work leaders and practitioners will gather together under the theme “The power of One Army…Transforming Our World.”
Every Salvation Army territory and command was invited to send delegates to the conference, and more than 200 Global Track delegates are expected to participate in the 12 sessions. Anyone can participate in the online discussion forum, which will feature content in the days ahead of the conference and live coverage of the event. One plenary session will include contributions made through the online discussions.
The Global Track will focus on The Salvation Army’s International Vision—One Army, One Mission, One Message—and will consider the following:
- One Army – How and when has The Salvation Army best worked as One Army? What lessons can be learnt to promote integrated expressions of Army mission?
- One Mission – How do we know when we are achieving One Mission? What is the evidence? How can we measure it?
- One Message – How can we be faithful to One Message when the social work field is influenced by many other powerful messages?
Through discussion and the sharing of expertise and experience, it is hoped that delegates will address the big questions faced by The Salvation Army as it serves suffering humanity, formulating ideas that can shape policy and practice around the world for years to come. A set of papers will be produced, setting out where The Salvation Army is working best as One Army to serve suffering humanity.
The General will attend a number of sessions and listen to discussions before speaking in the final plenary Global Track session.
“The 2014 conference is a one-off opportunity to gather leaders and practitioners from various disciplines and all parts of The Salvation Army world to engage with some of the most pressing issues as we all seek to serve suffering humanity as One Army,” said Commissioner Gerrit Marseille, international secretary for program resources. “We hope many people who cannot be in Orlando will also contribute online to share ideas and experiences which will strengthen our work around the world.”
Further information about Global Track is available in the May-July 2013 issue of Progress, published by the Program Resources Department at IHQ and available here.
